Howalid stretcher



(No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 2, H. STRETGHER.

PIANO PEDAL STOOL. No, 345,005. Patented July 6, 1886.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

I-IOlVAIiD STRETOHER, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF ONEIIALF TO JAMES A. DONOHUE, OF SAME PLACE.

PIANO-PEDAL STOOL.

EJPLEGIL'FTQATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 345,005, dated July- 6, 1886.

Serial No. 180.103. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern."

Be it known that I, HOWARD STRETOHER, of Cincinnati, Hamilton county, State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Piano-Pedal Stools, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this statement of inven tion, in which- Figure l is a front elevation of my invention. Fig. 2 is a section through the line A B, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is aviewin detail of treadle connectingrod, vibrating foot, clamp, and springs. Fig. I is a front view of the parts shown in Fig. 3.

Similar letters of reference in the several drawings denote the same parts.

My invention is a device by which children are enabled to more conveniently use the pedals of a piano. Pianos being built for the use of grown people, children must either use a seat too high for their feet or too low to bring their hands to a proper level.

The object of my invention is to obviate these inconveniences.

My invention consists, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, of a stool, 0, having the cover 0 hinged to one side. This cover, when open, may be held in a raised position by a strap, 0; or it may have hinges which holdit up when open. This stool, when not in use on the pedals of a piano and the cover (1 is down, presents the appearance of and may be used as an ordinary stool. This stool Chas abase-plate, D, to which are hinged foot-plates (l d.

E E are connecting-rods consisting of the members 0 and 0'. These rods pass through the base-plate D by a slot, 1). The members 6 and c are connected by a joint at x, which allows the members to come together at an angle which makes the rod E almost straight. The rod E is shown in the drawings as straight. It may, however, show an angle at m, and the members 0 and e of the rod E change position relative to each other by a movement in but one directionviz., toward the rear. The member 0 of the connecting-rod E is hinged to the foot-plates (Z (Z at a". This hinge is also limited in its movementto one direction. The member 0 of the connecting-rod E is rigidly attached to pedal-plates F F at an angle with said plates.

Movable clamping-bands H H pass under the pedal-plates F E, and are secured to said 5 5 plates by the screws h h. Spiral springs h rest at one end on the plates 1* F and on the upper ends of the bands H H. These springs serve to hold the plates F F and the clamp ing-bands H H together at any desired tension.

Operation: The stool is placed, with the cover raised, in front of the pedal of the piano. The pedals are then passed between the plates F F and the clamping-bands H H. The stool is thus held firmly to the pedals. The child using the pedals new places her feet on the foot-plates (l (I, and from time to time, as the music requires, presses these plates down. This pressureis communicated,through 7a the connecting-rod E, to the plates F F, and thus to the pedals of the piano. The joint at :v and the slot 2) in the base-plate D allow the rod E to partake of the forward and down ward movement of the foot plate or treadle d, and the joint at 00 allows a downward movement of the plate F, while the member 0 of the connecting-rod E is held at its fixed angle with the said plate. A spiral spring, K, is placed about the rod E, and rests at one end E0 on the base-plate D. Its other end has an abutment near the top of the rod E. The function of this spring K is to assist the pedalspring in recovery of the pedal after pressure, and to restore the foot-plate to its first operative position.

I am aware that pianopedal stools have heretofore been made, but am not aware of any that have a cover for the treadles.

hat I claim as new is- 1. In a piano-pedal stool, the combination of the foot-plate d and the connecting-rod E, having the members 6 and 0' connected by a one-way hinge, said rod E being connected to the foot-plate d by a one-way hinge, substan- 5 tially as shown and described.

2. In a piano-pedal stool, the combination of the member 6 of the connecting-rod E with The foregoing specification of my invention signed by me this 2d day of October, A. D. 1885.

the pedal-plate F, the clamping-band H, the screws h h, and thespiral springs h, substantially as described.

3. In a piano-pedal stool, the connecting- 5 rod E, having a one-way joint, as at m, and Witnesses:

pivoted to the footplate by a one-way joint, 1?. J. CADWALLADER, substantially as described. J EPTHA GARRARD.

HOWVARD STRETGHER. 

